BRYAN ROBSON could suffer the ultimate heartbreak this weekend by being condemned to the drop at his beloved Old Trafford.

The West Brom manager knows time is running out after Robin van Persie's second-half strike gave Arsenal victory at The Hawthorns - before Edu sealed it at the end - and pushed the Baggies closer to relegation.

Defeat away to Manchester United on Saturday, combined with another result other than a draw when Southampton meet Crystal Palace, would see Robson's side sent down to the Championship on the ground where he starred as a player.

This defeat left West Brom a point short of both Saints and Palace and are now in danger of having their last chance for survival stripped away before the final day of the campaign.

Robson knew his team could not afford to get stung on the break so played Kevin Campbell as a lone striker, with Geoff Horsfield dropping to the bench.

An extra centre-half was in place, stalwart Darren Moore coming in to add some steel and tenacity - few men care about the Albion cause more deeply than he.

Amid an electric atmosphere the home side started reasonably brightly and showed the sort of spirit they must produce until the end of the season to have a chance of surviving in the Premiership.

Zoltan Gera flashed an acrobatic overhead kick wide on six minutes, after van Persie failed to clear a Kieran Richardson free-kick. No team was worse than West Brom in the first half of the season but few have shown as much determination and desire since the turn of the year.

Even manager Robson feared there was no way back after demoralising thrashings at the hands of Liverpool and Birmingham in December.

But things have gradually turned around thanks to greater defensive fortitude and a sense of collectiveness instilled by Robson and his assistant Nigel Pearson.

But the hosts were not always making the most of their possession last night - Richardson wasted a free-kick to the side of the area by blazing it over the bar instead of clipping into the danger zone.

For Arsenal, the loss of their Premiership title to Chelsea was finally confirmed last weekend. Inevitable though it had been, it was still a bitter pill for the north London club to swallow.

Patrick Vieira seemed to have taken it personally and was angry and over-aggressive in the opening stages.

A string of reckless challenges led to free-kicks for West Brom but, even after a dangerous lunge from behind on Ronnie Wallwork, referee Neale Barry kept his yellow card in his pocket. Wound up or not, Vieira is still one of the Premiership's most accomplished players and gave the home side a warning with a fierce shot that went just over the bar from 25 yards out.

Suddenly, Arsenal burst into life, with a sustained spell of pressure that kept West Brom grimly hanging on in their own third of the pitch.

Vieira had a fierce drive parried by Wallwork and van Persie was sent clean through before being denied by some excellent work from the fast-advancing Russell Hoult.

This Monday night fixture meant the Baggies had been forced to spend an agonising weekend nervously awaiting the results of their relegation rivals.

Southampton's victory over Norwich had done them few favours, nor had Crystal Palace's draw at Newcastle.

Just before the break Wallwork was not far away from giving them a lift, shooting inches over after being set up by Gera. West Brom set a blistering tempo at the start of the second half as they tried to crash through the visitors' rock-solid defence.

Arsenal though, are masters at soaking up pressure and held firm. Neil Clement's goalward header on 55 minutes caused some stress in the area but Gilberto Silva managed to nod it behind.

Yet the more Albion attacked in numbers, the more it played into manager Arsene Wenger's hands and another trademark Arsenal breakaway move produced the opener on 66 minutes.